Getting Those Toddling Tots on the Ski Slopes

We always seemed to be a mitten short.

We would arrive ready to ski, but some little person--or Mom--had left the crucial mitten in the car or the rented condo. If not a mitten, then goggles. As soon as we’d bought more and gotten the snowsuits zipped, one of the kids had to go to the bathroom--again.

Now our two teens navigate the toughest slopes with ease, and our 8-year-old carries her own snowboard. We laugh about those days when they were so pooped after a couple of hours on the snow that we had to carry them and their ski gear, telling ourselves as we staggered along what a great time we were having on this vacation.

“No question, it’s a lot of work to take young kids skiing,” said Cathy McDonald, an upstate New York mother of four young skiers, all of whom had their ski legs by the time they were 3. “What made the schlepping worth it was seeing their progress--when they’d fall and get right back up again with a smile on their face.”

Even better, this is one vacation investment that keeps paying off, snow-loving parents agree, although they wish it weren’t so expensive. “It’s a bite, but it’s a choice we made to do this instead of other things,” said Beatrice Vornle Von Haagenfels, a mother of five young skiers from Connecticut. “We watch the kids do a lot of sports, but skiing is one thing all of us can do together.”

That’s especially important for the McDonalds because their oldest, Michael, was born with a serious heart defect and wasn’t able to play team sports. When Michael was barely out of diapers, his surgeon suggested skiing as an alternative, so “we became a skiing family,” Cathy McDonald said.

They have lots of company these days. Parents with kids now account for more than half the visitors to ski areas, the National Ski Areas Assn. reports. Ski resorts from Vermont and Colorado to California and Wyoming are rolling out the red carpet for the littlest skiers, snowboarders and their parents. They sport big, bright new children’s facilities with infant day care, junior rentals and gear conveniently in the same building.

There’s plenty of beginner terrain just outside, with “magic carpets” that effortlessly move the kids up gentle hills alongside young instructors schooled in child development who are responsible for just two or three youngsters. Pagers are available at many places for parents who want to stay in constant touch. Ask before you book whether the resort has these amenities.

“Virtually every North American ski resort worth its salt has added, revamped or expanded its children’s center in the last few years,” said Felicity Long, who is skiing editor for the trade publication Travel Weekly.

Jackson Hole, Wyo., just spent $6 million on its kids’ center. Killington, Vt., teaches 2-year-olds in its Fast Tracks program. To promote its new children’s School House, Copper Mountain Resort in Colorado is throwing in a free supervised kids’ night if parents spend $25 at the resort shopping or eating. Vermont’s Smugglers’ Notch is doing even better, offering a free ski school for kids and day care.

Seven Utah ski resorts, including Park City, Deer Valley and Snowbird, have become partners with Southwest Airlines to offer kids free flights and lift tickets when accompanied by a paying adult. Kids even get free lunch at Park City Mountain Resort.

Programs once designed for kindergartners have been revamped for 3-year-olds, with so many parents willing to fork over $100 a day to cover their child’s lessons, lunch, lift ticket and day care that reservations are often needed.

Smugglers’ Notch as well as Heavenly and Northstar-at-Tahoe in California have added “Mommy and Me, Daddy and Me” sessions so that parents of young children can learn how to teach their kids.

The Northstar program is free and so popular that it’s offered six days a week.

“Kids are doing all sorts of sports at younger ages, and that includes skiing,” said Alison Clayton, who trains children’s ski instructors for the Professional Ski Instructors of America and oversees Stratton Mountain Resort’s children’s program in Vermont. “Parents have high expectations,” often too high, she added.

How do you know if your preschooler--once he’s potty trained--is ready to hit the slopes? Here’s what Clayton would ask:

* Can she happily be away from Mom and Dad? Ski school shouldn’t be her first day-care experience.

* Is he fairly coordinated and does he like to be active outside? Can he kick a ball and hop on one foot?

* Can she maneuver under her own power? A kid who insists on being carried everywhere isn’t ready. Wait a year.

Laura Sutherland’s book, “The Best Family Ski Vacations in North America” (St. Martin’s Griffin, $15.95), is a good resource. So is https://www.skinet.com.

Jackson Hole, toll-free telephone (888) DEEP SNO, Internet https://www.jacksonhole.com/ski.

Killington, tel. (800) 621-MTNS, Internet https://www.killington .com.

Copper Mountain Resort, tel. (800) 458-8386, Internet https://www.ski-copper.com.

Smugglers’ Notch Resort, tel. (800) 451-8752, Internet https://www.smuggs.com.

Southwest Airlines Ski Desk, tel. (800) SKI-8365, Internet https://www.swavacations.com.

Northstar-at-Tahoe, tel. (800) GO-NORTH, Internet https://www.skinorthstar.com.

Heavenly, tel. (800) 2-HEAVEN, Internet https://www.skiheavenly .com.

Taking the Kids appears the first and third week of every month.